~ Two friends supporting each other long distance in our weight loss goals

Tag Archives: low carb high fat

Before I get started, let me just say how proud and happy I am for T. She sent me a picture from her recent girls’ weekend trip and she looks AHHHMAAAAAYYYYZING! Get it, girl!

Now on to the food!

Forgive me in advance for not being my normally wordy, descriptive self, but I’m on the cusp of a migraine so I’m just trying to get this down for you super fast while I remember it, especially since we’ve been pretty lame at posting these past few weeks.

Anyway, I experimented today and came up with this very tasty, almost restaurant quality spicy chicken soup. You can alter it to your desired spice level by using more or less of the chili powder and/or red pepper flakes.

Spicy Cheesy Chicken Soup

4 chicken thighs

3 chicken bouillon cubes

1 beef bouillon cube

1/2 small onion, chopped

1 Tbs minced garlic

2 oz cream cheese

1 c heavy whipping cream

2 Tbs chili powder

1 Tbs cumin

2 tsp dried red pepper flakes

salt

14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes*

4 oz can chopped green chiles

2 c shredded colby jack cheese

Boil the chicken thighs and bouillon cubes in enough water to cover the thighs. Toss in the onion and garlic. Once done (when the chicken comes away from the bone easily), remove the chicken from the pot and set aside. Whisk the cream cheese into the liquid in the pot. Then whisk the heavy cream in. Stir in the chili powder, cumin, red pepper flakes and salt. Bring to simmer for about 5 minutes.

While it’s coming to simmer, shred the chicken with a fork. (Or, if you’re lazy like me, just pull it apart into manageable chunk sizes.) Once your 5 minutes of simmering are up, add the chicken back into the pot, along with the tomatoes, diced chiles and cheese. Continue stirring until the cheese is well incorporated. Then, get your bowl and spoon and enjoy!

As it stands, I’ve lost approximately 30 lbs since I started on this LCHF journey. Going into it, I knew it wasn’t going to be a way of eating that I could commit to forever for the simple fact that I absolutely adore fruit. Apples, oranges, GRAPES, mangoes, peaches, pears, plums, pineapples…probably the only fruits I DON’T like are bananas, blueberries and kiwi.

In the past, I’ve dabbled with what I affectionately call the “pick it, kill it” diet. If you can pick it and it eat it in its raw form, it’s allowed. If you can kill it, cook it (or not…no judgment here) and eat it, it’s allowed. It’s basically a primal diet in very simple terms. I used to refer to it as paleo, but discovered that, while the two approaches to diet are similar, there are some marked differences. (Read more about it here.) One such difference is that the paleo diet is not too keen on saturated fats. Being on a diet that ENCOURAGES butter and fatty cuts of meat is the main reason I’ve been able to stick this one out. I mean, who doesn’t just love a juicy prime rib served with buttered broccoli?

Photo courtesy of yelp

I’ll also be able to keep avoiding all the things that I’m allergic to (corn, wheat, rice, barley, oats) but feel less restricted since I’ll be enjoying fruits, honey, molasses and such. And because I’m hard-headed and can’t resist the occasional allergen-filled piece of cake, pie or donut, I’ll be aiming at eating primal at least 80% of the time. I just can’t do 100% restriction of anything, allergies or not!

I still have about 20 more pounds I’d like to lose, so I probably won’t start shifting to primal until January or so. (Gotta have some cushion weeks for the inevitable weight gain from my grandmother’s irresistible holiday cooking.) In the meantime, I’ll continue to keep this low carb, high fat party going!

Hello, people of Lowcarbunda! I bring you greetings and experimentation results!

Today on Facebook, I ran across a most delicious looking recipe for chicken alfredo lasagna. Not only did it look good, but it required no extra special ingredients. I could even just use my leftover baked chicken. Right up my alley! What wasn’t up my alley was the carb-y lasagna noodles, so I decided to give it a go with the handy dandy alternative: zucchini!

I had intended to get a little funky with it because, as T will tell you, I like to mix things up a bit. Unfortunately that part of the experimentation went all the way left. The good news, though, is I may have “accidented” upon a pretty tasty low carb pancake that doesn’t require cream cheese! Keep your fingers crossed for the kitchen testing to come.

Chicken Alfredo “Zuccagna”

1 medium zucchini, sliced length-wise

1 c alfredo sauce (I used Bertolli mushroom alfredo, yum!)

1 c cooked, shredded chicken (I pulsed mine in the Ninja)

Italian seasonings, to taste

Granulated garlic, to taste

Black pepper, to taste

6 slices provolone

Preheat oven to 350. Mix the italian seasonings, garlic and pepper into the shredded chicken. Spray bottom and sides of loaf pan with no stick. Lay half of the zucchini on the bottom. Top with 1/2 c of shredded chicken, followed by 1/2 c alfredo. Top with 3 slices of the provolone. Repeat the layers: zucchini, chicken, alfredo, provolone. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Let set for 5 minutes or so before serving, then enjoy!

Sorry, forgot to use the flash on the photo! I think this would be just as tasty with a tomato-based sauce but wouldn’t look as neat and orderly. Give the recipe a try and let us know what you think, or any changes you’d make. Thanks for reading and losing with us!

Hey guys! How’s it going? Me? Can’t complain! I’ve been doing some experimenting with recipes I’ve found online. I’m not going to post about those that I found to be utterly disgusting (like that cookie puff thing that tasted like artificially sweetened dog kibble), but I will let you know about those that were at least ok.

That brings me to the chili cheese dog casserole. I’m not big on casseroles, but I’m trying to expand a little. LCHF dieting is pretty limiting when compared to the SAD (standard american diet) way of eating, so I figure that variety is the key to transitioning, ya know? And since I’m a lover of coney dogs, why not give this a try?

Anyway, I can’t remember where I first saw the chili cheese dog casserole recipe, but here’s a link to one that is similar to the original. I tweaked it a little bit, as you will see in the instructions below.

Preheat oven to 350. Brown the hamburger and onion. Stir in the seasonings, mustard, tomatoes and chopped hot dogs. Spread in a casserole dish. Beat the eggs, mayonnaise and heavy whipping cream together until it’s all smooth. Pour over the meat mixture, stirring it to make sure the meat is evenly coated. Top with the cheese. Bake for 30-40 minutes. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving.

Now I’ll admit that I wasn’t a fan of this. It wasn’t nasty, but it just didn’t do it for me. However, 3 other people ate it and 2 of them loved it. (Both of whom pretty much only like junk food, so if that’s your bag, this might be for you.) I’ll likely only make it again if requested, but I figure it’s worth a post if 50% of eaters enjoyed it.

If you try it, please comment with your thoughts. I’d like to hear. Happy dining!

This is gonna be a quicky post, just because I’ve had a pickle of a day and I feel the need to end it on a positive note. Nothing like reflecting on what’s going right in your life to help soften the not-so-right.

Anyhoo, let me just say it. I’ve lost roughly 20 lbs since starting this WOE a little over a month ago. In my mind, I expect 20 lbs to be the rough side of the mountain, and it would be smooth-sailing from there. Ohhh, how I dared to dream! I haven’t lost enough just yet to relax about my size, but lemme say this: for once in a very long while, I can walk past a mirror without cringing.

That may not seem like such a big deal, but trust me– it’s huge. Huge! As someone formerly in love with her reflection, it’s a really deep and painful thing to not only dislike what you see, but to actively avoid seeing it. I’m a chick with skin-tight hair, which is actually how I prefer it, but for years I’ve been flip-flopping on the notion of growing my hair out (which I hate) JUST to balance out the fat in my face. On one of the many fashion blogs I read, the blogger wondered how many full-figured women (like herself) hide behind their hair. I certainly wouldn’t say I’ve ‘hidden’, heck, I don’t have enough hair for that. But the thought has certainly crossed my mind several times.

Earlier this week however, tired of rocking the platinum blonde that I’ve had for a couple months, I cut my hair down to 1/16″. I knew it would make my chubby face look ginormous, but I didn’t really care at the time. But oh baby, oh baby! It looks SMASHING on me. My face has finally slimmed down enough to where I can rock this buzz cut and feel just as fierce and sexy as I wanna be. That’s a massive accomplishment to me! And what’s even better, is that I’m getting to a place where I’m beginning to love my reflection again. Now whether or not that’s a good thing? I guess it depends on who you are, and whether or not we share a mirror..

That title sounds so dramatic, doesn’t it? The Purge. Believe it or not, I’m actually not referring to a night of rampant lawlessness– although I am intrigued by the concept (I really need to see those movies). I am instead referencing the topographical nightmare that is my skin right now. More specifically, my face. 😦

I have suffered from cystic acne off and on for roughly the last 8 years. It’s hereditary, as my mom went through similar issues. While she stayed in the dermatologist’s office, I’ve been far more sporadic in my visits. I wasn’t sure I was conveying the proper information to my derm, which led him to place me on antibiotics to treat the skin infection. I was on it for roughly 5 months, yes, with clear skin. But who wants to be on meds long-term for something so superficial and non-life threatening? Of course, being the Google queen, I went to some message boards and found out some of the long-term effects of being on the medication. One said something about gums turning blue (temporarily), and teeth turning blue (often permanently). Soooo, yeah. I went off the medication for good.

I have somehow in the last year or so, figured out how to balance and manage my skin. I suppose it’s a mixture of getting older, better diet, and more TLC for my skin. I’ve discovered that there are very few products I can use that won’t leave my chin covered in large, tender nodules. Less is more. I don’t wear makeup, and I have found a couple of trusty products that I use faithfully.

Which brings us to the present. When I began doing my research into LCHF, I found sites that stated several of the issues/conditions that could be resolved or reduced by eliminating carbs from the diet– one of those being acne. So imagine my fitful surprise when my skin decided to do a pubescent throwback, leaving me pizza-faced and confused. I was bewildered! People who had long suffered from acne were now enjoying the benefits of clearer skin, after just a few short weeks (or even days) on LCHF. Why was this happening to ME– when my skin was clearer than most to begin with?

Before I share what I’ve discovered, let me say that I’m not an esthetician, or skin specialist of any kind. This is just some anecdotal knowledge that I’ve gained from casual web-surfing, but it makes sense to me, and has made me feel better about the whole situation.

When the body transitions into ketosis (using fat as the primary source of energy, as opposed to carbohydrates), it can be a bumpy ride. As the fat stores in my body are being depleted, the gunk and toxins stored within that fat, are also being released. It has to go somewhere (our preference is of course to excrete it), and the facial pores are some of the largest in the body. Now what does this mean for me? It means that I’m likely in ketosis (yay!) and my body is ‘purging’ itself of some of that old stored yucky. It also likely means that my hormone levels are being regulated (although my cycle is already pretty regular, I’m open to tweaking), and the result is my less-than-perfect complexion. With time, as my body adjusts to ketosis, it will almost certainly become more efficient at eliminating the waste and toxins, and my skin will be spared. My role in the meanwhile, is to drink plenty plenty of water, to help the purge along, and encourage my body to release the toxins down yonder.

So all that to say, this is quite possibly the first time I don’t mind having a few zits! It means I’m on the right path, and my body is healing. So if you’re one of those lucky people whose skin is perfect on the path to ketosis, congratulations! And I hate you. But yay for all of us getting healthier!